1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a four wheeled buggy used for the purpose of carrying a load or burden, for example, in a pasture, farm-land, waste land and the like, and more particularly, it relates to a supporting structure for a shift-control apparatus of a four wheeled buggy having a steering wheel operated by a driver from a stirring posture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as small-sized or light vehicles adapted to run on a pasture, farm-land, waste land and the like, three wheeled or four wheeled buggies have been developed. These three of four wheeled buggies are operated by a driver from a riding posture, like an auto cycle or bike, and the steering control thereof is effected by manual operation of the driver by means of a bar handle of the buggy.
However, the above conventional buggy of riding type has disadvantages that it is hard for the driver to get on and off the buggy and that, when the buggy runs on such an irregular land as the pasture, farm-land, waste land and the like, the driver is obliged to heavy labor due to serious and hard manipulation of the bar handle, thus tiring the driver in a long-driving. Further, the above conventional buggy has a poor loading capacity and does not permit a double-seater.
To eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional buggy, a four wheeled buggy having a steering wheel operated by a driver from a sitting posture has recently been proposed.
However, in the above-mentioned four wheeled buggy operated by the driver from the sitting posture, a floor in front of seats on which the driver and a passenger sit must be flat and an upper space above the flat floor must be completely vacant so as not to hinder the driver's operation and so as to facilitate their getting on and off with respect to the buggy. Therefore, a shift-control apparatus should not be arranged on the floor. Further, an operation or control cable for connecting the shift-control apparatus with a front-rear drive changing transmission positioned in the rear part of the buggy must not be arranged on the flat floor so as not to hinder the driver's and/or the passenger's getting on and off with respect to the buggy. Furthermore, the control or operation cable must not be arranged below the flat floor so as to avoid the damage of the cable even when the buggy runs on the irregular land on the bound. Therefore, it is requested that the operation cable is arranged between the front part and the rear part of the buggy in a space equal to or smaller than a hight or thickness of a main frame of the buggy. In this case, it is preferable to provide such space in a central and longitudinal portion of the main frame to simplify the wiring of the operation cable and electric wires for an electric system. Accordingly, it is requested that the shift-control apparatus is arranged in a position which corresponds to such space and which facilitates the driver's operation.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a supporting structure for a shift-control apparatus of a four wheeled buggy capable of supporting the shift-control apparatus in a position which facilitates the driver's operation and which also facilitates introduction of an operation cable into a wiring space provided in a central and longitudinal portion of a main frame of the buggy.